
LEASONS ON THE PARABLES OE
JESUS.
5
NOTES•
To Adam and Eve in their Eden home nature was full of the
knowledge of God, teeming with divine instruction. Wisdom
spoke to the eye, and was received into the heart, for they com-
muned with God in His created works. As soon as the holy pair
transgressed the law of the Most High, the brightness from the
face of God departed from the face of nature. The earth is now
marred and defiled by sin. Yet, even in its blighted state, much
that is beautiful remains. God's object-lessons are not obliterated;
rightly understood, nature speaks of her Creator.
In the days of Christ these lessons had been lost sight of.
Men had well-nigh ceased to discern God in His works. The sin-
fulness of humanity had cast a pall over the fair face of creation;
and, instead of manifesting God, His works became a barrier that
concealed Him. . . . Not only the things of nature, but the
sacrificial service and the Scriptures themselves,—all given to
reveal God,—were so perverted that they became the means of
concealing Him.
Jesus sought an avenue to every heart. By using a variety of
illustrations, He not only presented truth in its different phases,
but appealed to the different hearers. Their interest was aroused
by figures, drawn from the surroundings of their daily life.
In the Saviour's parable teaching is an indication of what
constitutes the title "higher education."
Too often the minds of students are occupied with men's theo-
ries and speculations, falsely called science and philosophy. They
need to be brought into close contact with nature. Let them
learn that creation and Christianity have one God.
Christ's purpose in parable teaching was in direct line with the
purpose of the Sabbath. . . . The Sabbath bids us behold in
His created works the glory of the Creator.
. . On the holy
rest day, above all other days, we should study the messages that
God has written for us in nature. We should study the Sa-
viotir's parables where He spoke them in the fields and groves,
under the open sky-, among the grass and flowers. As we come
close to the heart of nature, Christ makes His presence real to us,
and speaks to our hearts of His peace and love.